The present invention relates generally to a zoom lens, and more particularly to a zoom lens that covers a mid-to-full telephoto area used for interchangeable lenses for single-lens reflex cameras, etc., and has a relatively high zoom ratio.
Among zoom lenses that cover a focal length region from the wide-angle area to the mid-to-full telephoto area used for interchangeable lenses for single-lens reflex cameras or the like and have a zoom ratio of 3 or more, there is already a zoom lens comprising, in order from its object side, a first lens group having positive refracting power, a second lens group having negative refracting power, a third lens group having positive refracting power and a fourth lens group having positive refracting power, as known from Patent Publications 1, 2 and 3 or the like. Possible reasons for such arrangement are that higher zoom rations are easily achievable; the positive group in front permits the total length of the zoom lens to be curtailed; and so on.
Patent Publication 1
JP(A)11-142740
Patent Publication 2
JP(A)2000-321497
Patent Publication 3
JP(A)2001-208970
With the spread of digital single-lens reflex cameras, on the other hand, there is now a growing demand for an interchangeable lens optimized to cameras that comprise an imaging device having an image circle smaller than that of silver halide 35-mm film or the like. The interchangeable lens for such digital cameras should have a resolving power higher than demanded for interchangeable lenses for conventional silver halide 35-mm film and a more limited tolerance for chromatic aberrations. Moreover, the proportion of the back focus relative to the focal length of the whole system must be large: generally, there must be a lot more of retrofocus power profile.
As for zoom lens specifications, there are mounting demands for higher zoom ratios, larger aperture ratios, wider-angle arrangement, reductions in the closest object distance, etc., and with them, a sensible tradeoff between size reductions and cost reductions is in great need as well.
The situation being like such, the invention has for its object to the provision of a zoom lens that can easily achieve higher performance than ever before.